Instantly Greener: Good Things Come in Little to No Packaging

Because I'm on the tinier side of the height spectrum, all my life, well-meaning folks have been telling me, "Good things come in small packages!" I didn't always appreciate it, especially when I was a kid and my pesky neighbor, Cliff Paininthebutt (who was only slightly less small), called me "Mini-Wheels" (I was speedy as well as tiny) and my parents tried to tell me that he liked me. Even these days, decades later, one of my eco-colleagues calls me "The Little Green Dynamo." (I sort of like that nickname.) But I digress. This is a post about switching from buying things in earth-unfriendly packaging (that will hang around forever in landfills) to buying things in little to no packaging (best), or earth-friendlier packaging (next best).

For example, pictured above is my new favorite passion: pomegranates. Sure, they have a thick skin, but since it's biodegradable and compostable, the "packaging" is null and void. If there is a more beautiful fruit anywhere else on earth, please tell me about it right this second, because to me, the pomegranate is a veritable work of art. What other food delivers layer upon layer of glistening rubies to you? They're juicy, crunchy (you can eat the seeds), and loaded with anti-oxidants. Bonus: Eating a pomegranate is super-fun for the kids (who should wear bibs or red playclothes--poms can get quite squirty and messy). So, that's your best bet on the packaging front: unprocessed fruits and vegetables, purchased loose or in reusable produce bags.*

Here's my second choice, above: buying products with low environmental impact. I just found this laundry detergent from Seventh Generation at the supermarket today, and I was really impressed with the innovative packaging. The outside layer is recyclable or compostable cardboard (there's an inner plastic bag--it's recyclable in limited areas), and the label says "this bottle uses 66% less plastic than a typical 100 oz. 2X laundry bottle and washes the same number of loads." The tissues are from True Green Enterprises and are "made from sugar cane by-products and quick-growing bamboo, reed or grass." The carton is made from 100% recycled material. Two green thumbs-up for both of those products. But now...(big, exasperated sigh)...

...massive thumbs-down to these organic foods for kids. Sure, it's sort of good (said in a begrudging tone) that various companies are making organic fruits and veggies which are convenient for parents to grab and go, but this type of packaging makes me cringe. One of them had the nerve to say that the plastic cap is recyclable--as if that's ever going to happen! It's not even coded for recycling, in the off-chance that somebody will try to do it. The thing that pains me the most about these single-use packages is that the companies are trying to portray themselves as "good for the earth" due to the organic products within (and granted, they're skipping pesticides and all of the problems those entail). Some of these companies advise you to send the empty packages onto other companies who will "upcycle" them into other stuff (imprinted with their brand name on it), but why not just have more responsible, easier-to-recycle packaging in the first place? As I learned when I was reading Garbage Land, Germany has their act seriously together on this front--they've enacted laws for extended producer responsibility (EPR), which means manufacturers must take back their unrecyclable packaging at the point of sale--and that means they avoid the cost and hassle by using earth-friendlier materials at the onset. Why are we so behind on this point?

It's enough to make me want to go lie down...or eat another pomegranate.

Your turn: Which things (if any) do you buy in the name of on-the-go convenience? Are there earth-friendlier things you can substitute for your current single-use, disposable items? What products out there get your green thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

*If you decide to buy these reusable produce bags (or anything else you see linked on this site to Amazon.com--such as the green books for kids and adults), please click through the link I've provided to buy them. It puts a few extra pennies in my pocket when you buy things that I recommend, and it keeps this blog advertising-free (for now). While I can't guarantee that you will love what you buy, I will never recommend anything on this site that I don't personally own, use, and love.

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